Web roll cradle



p 9, 1969 N. R. HENRY ETAL 3,465,979

WEB ROLL CRADLE Filed Aug. 21, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ala 50 f8. HENRYJACK #05427 ATTORNEYS Sept. 9, 1969 N. a. HENRY ETAL 3,465,979

WEB ROLL CRADLE Filed Aug. 21, 196'? 3 Sheets-Sheet Fl INVENTORS,

A fl some HEN/(Y J/ICK Has/war BY Zda xa, M, (Zea/w ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent 3,465,979 WEB ROLL CRADLE Nelson R. Henry, Decatur, andJack Hobart, Atlanta, Ga., assignors to The Woodman Company, Inc.,Decatur, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Filed Aug. 21, 1967, Ser. No.661,971 Int. Cl. B65h 17/12; B21h 31/08, 27/02 US. Cl. 24268.7 17 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A roll cradle wherein the rollers areprovided with a plurality of longitudinally extending ridges on thesurface thereof forming spaced pockets to accommodate a slack loop so asto allow the same to pass from the roll. The forward one of said rollersin the direction of travel of the web is positioned below the rearroller and the web is looped around said forward roller to preventaccidental dislodgement of said roll. The ridges are of a herringbonepattern to insure smooth transitional movement across said pockets andupstanding rods are provided to maintain the roll centered in thecradle. Brake means with dancer lever provides tension control of theweb.

The present invention relates to apparatus for unwinding a web roll offlexible sheet material and, more particularly, to a roll cradle for webpackaging material which eliminates the need for the use of a centralsupporting arbor.

In the art of winding and unwinding sheet material of indefinite length,it is known to employ a cradle to support the roll of material on itsperiphery in lieu of using an arbor extending through the core of theroll. These coil cradles have the advantage of allowing quicker andeasier removal and replacement of the coils and thus representsignificant savings to the user by reducing the down time of the machineserved by the cradle and by allowing an operator to service moremachines. Other obvious advantages which come to mind are that thecradle can operate successfully on coils of different sizes and that thediameter of the hollow core of the coil is not critical, as in the casewhere an arbor is employed to support the coil. Further, with theelimination of the arbor there is no need to maintain the extra arborsto fit different coils thereby representing a savings in cost ofequipment, as well as freeing valuable space around the machine andpreventing accidents that might result from a spare arbor inadvertentlybeing left on the floor,

Thus, while the use of cradles for supporting a roll of materialisdesirable, such cradles have found favorable acceptance in use only withcertain products, such as coils of strip metal and certain otherrelatively stiff sheet material. That is, unexpected problems havearisen in adapting their use to more flexible material, such aspolyethylene, cellophane, glassine laminates or the like used, forexample, in modern form and fill packaging machines. One apparent reasonfor this is that these materials are more elastic or stretchable, andtherefore susceptible to being wound under rather wide variations intension. To explain, when a web roll of flexible, stretchable materialis manufactured and wound into roll form, because of its elasticity andthe difference and inherent variation in the tension control ofdifferent winding machines, some or all of the roll will be found to beundesirably loosely wound so as to result in the web forming a slackloop during the unwinding operation, usually in the outer turns of theweb on the web roll. Due to another characteristlc of this type ofmaterial, that is the tendency to stick to itself during the unwindingoperation until the web 15 positively separated from the roll, the loopthus formed will eventually stick sutficiently at its trailing end andbe ICC carried intact between the pressure nip formed by the supportroller and the web roll thereby forming an undergirable crease or doublefold transversely across the we Accordingly, it is one object of thepresent invention to provide a web roll cradle for flexible material,such as used in packaging, which corrects the foregoing problems.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a web rollcradle of the type described wherein the web roll is maintained centeredupon the support rollers and the tension or slackness in the web ismaintained substantially constant.

To briefly describe the apparatus of the present invention, the web rollis supported on a pair of elongated support rollers having parallel andhorizontally disposed axes. On the peripheral surface of at least theforward roller where the web is withdrawn, there is provided a pluralityof ridges which form spaced elongated pockets in the operative surfaceof the roll to accommodate any slack loop in the Web as it appears dueto the loose winding, as mentioned above.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, centering of thefilm roll is insured by a pair of upstanding alignment rods which extendthrough the space between the rollers and act on the opposite end facesof the roll.

The forward roller is positioned lower than the rear roller so that thecradle is in effect tilted forward whereby the roll in use is not likelyto be accidentally dislodged toward the operator who loads the cradlefrom the rear. To compensate for the unbalance in the forward directiondue to this tilt, the web is unwound from the roll by looping the samearound the forward roller. Thus, the force due to the tension in the webtending to bodily move the roll maintains the same in operativeengagement with the rear roll and thereby prevents the roll from ridingup on the forward roller and prevents accidental displacement or removalin this direction. To supplement this action and to prevent an excessbuildup of slack and runaway of the roll, the apparatus is provided witha danceroperated brake system which is connected so as to retard themovement of the rolls upon detection of excessive slack in the freeportion of the web which has already been unwound.

Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomereadily apparent to those skilled in this art from the followingdetailed description, wherein we have shown and described only thepreferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration ofthe best mode contemplated by us of carrying out our invention. As willbe realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodimentsand its several details are capable of modification in various obviousrespects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, thedrawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature,and not as restrictive.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an overall perspective view of a roll cradle constructed inaccordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1illustrating the path of travel of said web;

FIGURE 2a is a partial cross-sectional view showing the slack loopaccommodating action of the pocket between the ridges on the supportroller;

FIGURE 2b is a cutaway top view of the rollers showing the herringbonepattern of the ridges;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view like that of FIG- URE 2 showing theposition of the brake means in the released or no-slack condition; and

FIGURE 3a is a cross-sectional view showing the position of the brakemeans in the applied or slack condition.

With specific reference now to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, a more detaileddescription of the apparatus of the present invention will be given. Inthis figure, a roll cradle 10, employing the principles of the presentinvention to support a web roll R, is attached to a frame 11 of aprocessing machine designed to utilize the web W. This machine could bea form and fill packaging machine wherein the web W is formed into acontinuous tube and individual bags formed and filled with batches ofmaterial, such as food products. However, it should be realized that theparticular roll cradle could of course be used in other machines whereina web roll supply is needed, without departing from the principles ofthe present invention.

The roll cradle 10 includes a pair of cantilever side frames 15, 16which serve to carry support rollers 17, 18 in suitable bearings. Asshown in the drawings, the rollers are suitably spaced apart to allowthem to rotate in the same rotative direction so that their adjacentcradle forming surfaces can move linearly in the same direction, asrequired. The axes of the support rollers 17, 18 are parallel and extendhorizontally so that the roll R of web material may be placed within thespace between the rollers for support by gravity on its periphery. Therollers 17, 18 are of course close enough together to prevent core C ofthe roll R from falling through or wedging between said rollers 17, 18when the web W has been completely unwound.

The path of travel of the web W from the roll R out of the cradle 10 canbest be seen in FIGURE 2 by following the arrows. In the embodimentshown, it is to be understood that the web W is placed under tension andthus unwound from the roll R by a feeding means within the processingmachine (not shown). Thus, the support rollers 17, 18 are rotated withintheir bearings in the direction shown by the arrows by the frictionalengagement with said roll R. As well illustrated in this figure, the webW is trained or looped around the roller 17 through an angle ofapproximately 270, and is actually separated from the roll R at thepressure nip formed between said roller 17 and the roll R, whicharrangement along with its advantages will be described in detail later.Thus, since the roller 17 is forward of the roller 18 in terms of webmovement, as well as positioning within the cradle 10, they can hereinafter for further identification be referred to as forward supportroller 17 and the rear support roller 18.

Suitably affixed, such as by gluing, to the outer periphery of theserollers 17, 18 are a plurality of generally longitudinally extendingstrips that serve to form a plurality of ridges 20, 21 on the smoothsurface of the roll, as can be seen in FIGURES 1 and 2. These ridges 20,21 extend at an angle with respect to the axes of the respective supportrollers 17, 18 for the purpose of insuring that the roll R is inengagement with two or more of said ridges 20, 21 on each of the rollers17, 18 at all times. As will be realized, this arrangement allows theroll R to rotate within the cradle 10 with a smooth transitionalmovement or without a bumping or jarring motion of the same overlongitudinally extending pockets 20a, 21a formed between adjacent onesof the respective ridges 20, 21. A helix angle of approximately has beenfound to be particularly adapted to meet the requirement of preventingbumping of the roll R while at the same time forming the pockets a, 21awith sufiicient longitudinal extent to meet the slack accommodationfunction of the pockets 20a, 21a now to be described.

First, to consider the specific interaction of the rollers 17, 18 withthe roll R during operation, there is formed a pressure nip 22 at theoint of engagement between the roll R and the forward support roller 17,as illustrated best in FIGURE 2. As stated above, the web W is placedunder considerable tension as it is withdrawn from the roll R into theprocessing machine 11, and is thus stretched to its fullest extent afterit has been separated from the roll R at said pressure nip 22. However,the pressure nip 22 does, in effect, isolate this stretching action fromthe final turn of the web on the roll R, so that if the web has beenloosely wound on the roll R, slackness will begin to appear along thisfinal turn in the form of a slack loop 23, as shown in FIGURE 2a. Theleading edge of the slack loop 23 is usually formed by the pressure nip22; whereas, the trailing edge of said loop 23 is usually formed by theinherent property of the packaging material to stick to the roll R, saidtrailing edge being indicated at 23a in FIGURE 2a. Thus, as the forwardroller 17 continues to turn, the loop 23 is formed, automaticallypositioned within the next successive pocket 20a between successiveridges 20 and allowed to pass from the roll R and onto the periphery ofthe forward roller 17 where it may be dissipated without harm.Accordingly, with the invention any slackness which has been included onthe roll R is translated into the slack loop 23 on the final turn of theroll and is automatically passed through the pressure nip 22 without theformation of any transverse creases in the web, as has heretofore been aproblem.

To most efiiciently perform this slack accommodating function, theridges 20, 21 are formed of approximately quarter-inch thick neoprenerubber stock strips, threequarters of an inch wide and spaced one to oneand a half inches apart. The trailing edge of the forward operativeridge 20 forms the leading edge of the loop 23; whereas, the leadingedge of the rear operative ridge 20 forms or aids in forming thetrailing edge 23a of said loop 23, as shown in FIGURE 2a. In thisrespect, the formation of the ridges 20', 21 of rubber or otherresilient material is of particular advantage to prevent slippage of theslack loop 23 from the pockets 20a, 21a prematurely. The selection ofthe width of the pockets 20a, 21a to be greater than the Width of theridges or about one and one-half times as wide has been found to besufiicient to allow all slackness in the roll due to loose winding to bereleased. If on any single unit of radial movement, a slack loop 23larger than can be accommodated in the pockets 20a, 21a is formed, aportion is simply transferred rearwardly under urging of the nextsuccessive ridge 20, 21 and is harmlessly released during the next unitof movement.

The angled ridges 20, 21 are preferably formed in a symmetricalherringbone pattern as clearly shown in FIG- URES 1 and 2b of thedrawings. Such a pattern of the angled ridges 20, 21 has been found tobe desirable in that the inherent side thrusts transmitted to the roll Rby said ridges 20, 21 cancel each other. In other words, as shown inFIGURE 2b, bight 24 of the ridges 20 is positioned in the center of theroller 17 so that when the web roll R is placed in the center of thecradle, the forces tending to shift the web roll R to one side or theother by this roller alone are equal and thus the centering is notdisturbed. Also of importance, is that the bight 24 is directed forwardin the direction of movement of the web W so that each successive loop23 is given a leading bow to effect a continuous, outward stretching andbeneficial smoothing of the web W from the middle thereof to remove anysmall imperfections in the web W as it leaves the roll R.

On the other hand, as can also be seen in FIGURE 2b, the bight 25 of theroller 18 extends in the opposite direction or rearwardly with respectto the movement of the web, whereby to tend to offset any uneven axialforce on said roll R caused by the ridges 20 on the forward roller 17should said roll R for some reason be positioned in the off-centerposition. To explain further, the side thrust forces created by theridges 20 on the roller 17 to the right or left of the bight 24 haveopposite counterparts created by the ridges 21 on the roller 18 to theright or left of the bight 25, respectively, as viewed in FIGURE 2b.Thus, the ridges 20, 21 perform their function without adverselyaffecting to any substantiaI degree the centering of the roll R withinthe cradle 10', as desired.

As illustrated in FIGURE 2 and in accordance with another aspect of thepresent invention, the forward roller 17 is positioned below the rearroller 18 so that a support plane P of the cradle passing through theaxes of said rollers 17, 18 is tilted forwardly so as to intersect thehorizontal at an acute angle 0 of approximately This arrangement oftilting of the plane P forwardly or away from the rear of the cradle 10,has proven to greatly lessen the possibility of the roll R beingaccidentally dislodged or allowed to fall backwardly over the rearsupport roller 18, thus insuring the safety of the opeartor as he loadsthe cradle 10 from a position behind said rear roller 18. Due to the webW being trained around the forward roller 17, the tension force in saidweb tends to bodily move the roll R is directed in the oppositedirection or so as to urge said roll R against the roller 18 so as tocounteract the forward tilt and prevent the roll R from beingaccidentally dislodged forwardly over the roller 17.

Of further importance relating to the positioning of the roller 17 belowthe roller 18 is the fact that a greater proportion of the weight of theroll R is on the roller 17 so that said roll R acts with greater forceat the pressure nip 22. This increased pressure encourages formation andisolation of the slack loop 23 in the manner described above, andincreases the bite of the edges of the ridges to effectivelytransversely smooth out the web W due to the leading herringbone patternas it leaves the roll R.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, there areprovided alignment rods 30, 31 (FIG- URES 2, 2b) positioned at oppositeends of the roll R so as to act on the end face of said roll R topositively insure maintenance of said roll R in the center of the cradle10. The upper or operative ends of the rods 30, 31 extend perpendicularto the plane P (FIGURE 2) so as to act along the radius of the roll R inthe manner illustrated. Preferably, the operative ends of the bars 30,31 are provided with respective guide rollers 32, 33 mounted by anysuitable means such as lower flange 34 and upper fastening nut 35. Toinsure against possible damage to the edge of the web W or the end faceof the roll R, each of the rollers 32, 33 is divided into a number ofindependently rotatable sections, such as three, as illustrated inFIGURE 2; it being understood that the sections of the rollers 32, 33engage and rotate with different radial portions of the end face, whichare moving at different linear speeds, thus minimizing slippage andinsuring against damage to the end faces of the roll R.

As best shown in FIGURE 2, the rods 30, 31 curve under the rear roller18 for support on adjustable slides 40, 41 (note FIGURE 1) which arecarried on a double bar guideway 42. Each of the slides 40, 41 isclamped in a selected position along the guideway 42 by means of clampplates 43, which are operated by a locking screw 44 having a handle 45in combination with a nut 46, as best shown in FIGURE 2. As can be seenin FIGURE 1, with this arrangement the slides 40, 41 are positioned foreasy access and the cradle 10 may be easily reloaded with a new roll Rand indeed may beused with any width roll R by a simple looseningopeartion of the clamp plates 43, repositioning of the slides 40, 41 andsubsequently tightening of said plates 43 in the new position.

The rotation of the rollers 17, 18 is preferably retarded so as tomaintain the proper tension in the web W to prevent excess slack andrunaway of the roll R. This is accomplished by a novel brake and controlmeans shown compositely in FIGURES l, 3 and 3a. As can be seen fromthese figures, the web W is looped over stationary reversing rollers 50,51, 52 so as to provide a pair of depending control loops L L Theseloops are formed at the bottom by cross bars 53, 54, respectively, of adancer lever, generally designated by the reference numeral 55. Thedancer lever 55 comprises a pair of spaced L-shaped members 56, 57connected by said cross bars 53, 54; the members '56, 57 being pivotallymounted midway along their vertical leg on the adjacent side frames 15,16 by stub shafts 60.

The lever 55 is urged about the stub shafts 60 by combined force of atension spring 61 and gravity so as to maintain the web W under tensionat all times through the action of the bars 53, 54 in the control loopsL L Also mounted on each of the stub shafts 60 for independent pivotalmovement is a brake block 65 having friction pads 66, 67 at oppositeends thereof and facing the respective rollers 17, 18. When the tensionin the web W slackens and the control loops L L are thereby enlarged, itwill be realized that the dancer lever 55 Will be lowered or, morespecifically, rotated in the clockwise direction as indicated in FIGURE3a, with the slack being taken up in the control loops L L This bringsthe blocks 65 into frictional engagement with the rotating rollers 17,18 thereby retarding the same and increasing the tension in the web W,thus resulting in the control loops L L being returned to their normalsize of FIGURE 3 and the tension in the web W returned to normal.Preferably, the connection between the dancer lever 55 and the block 65is by means of a spring 68 so as to provide a resilient engagement andthus nonbinding action of the brake pads 66, 67 against the face of theroller. As can be seen in these figures, the spring 68 is suitablyattached to the dancer lever 55 and the block '65 by respective brackets70, 71; the bracket having a plurality of holes 72 for receipt of theend of the spring 68 to allow adjustment of the resilient engagement formore or less braking effect, as desired.

Having thus described the invention in detail, it will now be realizedthat a roll cradle 10 has been provided which is capable of efficientlyoperating on rolls of flexible and somewhat stretchable packagingmaterial without slack being formed in the final turn of the roll tothereby prevent the formation of harmful creases and wrinkles in theweb. With the feature of providing the forward roller 17 below the rearroller 18, the roll cradle 10 is provided with a safety feature, and incooperation with this feature, the web W is advantageously trainedaround the forward roller 17 to insure that the roll R is maintained insnug engagement with the rear roller 18. Furthermore, the efficiency ofopeartion of the roll cradle 10 is greatly enhanced by provision ofnovel upstanding centering rods 30, 31 for maintaining the roll in theproper transverse position and dancer lever controlled brake means tomaintain a relatively constant tension in the web W over a varying rangeof demand.

In this disclosure, there is shown and descirbed only the preferredembodiment of the invention, but, as aforementioned it is to beunderstood that the invention is capable of various changes ormodifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed bythe accompanying claims.

We claim:

1. An arborless roll cradle for supporting a web roll duringintermittent unwinding operation comprising a pair of elongated supportrollers having parallel and horizontally disposed axes, said rollersbeing spaced to allow said roll to rest between the same so that thecenter of said roll is above a plane passing through said axes, aplurality of ridges extending generally longitudinally along both ofsaid rollers forming spaced elongated pockets having suflicient width toaccommodate a slack loop formed in the final turn of said web andthereby allow the same to pass from said roll without formation of acrease between said surfaces and said roll, said ridges being at anangle to the axis of the respective rollers so that at least twoadjacent ones of each of said rollers are in engagement with said rollat all times for smooth transitional movement of said roll over saidpockets, said web being trained around and under the forward roller andpassing between said rollers for withdrawal whereby said slack loop isformed at the pressure nip between said forward roller and said roll toallow immediate dispersal of said loop upon leaving said roll.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein each of said rollers has a smooth,outer peripheral surface and said ridges are provided by strips ofresilient material fixed to said smooth surfaces so as to extend abovethe same, whereby to aid in formation and restriction of said loop to bepassed by said pockets.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said ridges are V-shaped, thebight of said ridges being positioned in the center of said rollers,said bight of said ridges on the forward one of said rollers in thedirection of travel of said web extending in said direction of travel sothat said ridges produce outward and opposite axail forces on said webwhereby said web is given a leading bow and stretched outwardly from thecenter.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the bight of said ridges on therear one of said rollers extends in the direction opposite to thedirection of travel of said web so as to offset any uneven axial forceon said roll caused by said ridges on said forward roller.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said ridges are resilient to aidin formation and restriction of said loop to be passed by said pockets.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein is further provided brake meansfor said rollers, and control means for actuation of said brake means inresponse to slackness in said web to retard said rollers and prevent anexcess buildup of said slackness.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said control means includes apivotal dancer lever forming at least one control loop in said web, saidbrake means including a pivotal block connected to said dancer lever forfrictionally engaging said rollers in response to enlargement of saidcontrol loops.

8. The combination of claim 1 wherein the forward one of the supportrollers in :the direction of travel of said web is positioned below therear one of said rollers whereby said forward roller receives themajority of the weight of said roll to encourage trapping and formationof said slack loop and so as to prevent accidental removal of said rollover said rear roller.

9. An arborless roll cradle for supporting a web roll duringintermittent unwinding operation comprising a pair of elongated smoothsurfaced support rollers having parallel and horizontally disposed axes,said rollers being spaced to allow said roll to rest between the same sothat the center of said roll is above a plane passing through said axes,and a plurality of ridges extending generally longitudinally along andabove the smooth surface of the forward one of said rollers in thedirection of travel of said web, said ridges forming spaced elongatedpockets having sufiicient width to accommodate a slack loop formed inthe final turn of said web and thereby allow the same to pass from saidroll without formation of a crease between said surface and said roll,said web being looped around said forward roller and passing betweensaid rollers so as to form said slack loop by the pressure nip betweensaid forward roller and said roll immediately prior to separation ofsaid web from said roll.

10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said pockets are approximatelyone and one-half times as wide as said ridges whereby said accommodatedslack loop can be sufficiently wide to prevent excess buildup ofslackness.

11. An arborless roll cradle for supporting a web roll duringintermittent unwinding operation comprising a pair of elongated supportrollers having parallel and horizontally disposed axes, said rollersbeing spaced to allow said roll to rest between the same so that thecenter of said roll is above a plane passing through said axes, and aplurality of ridges extending generally longitudinally along the forwardone of said rollers in the direction of travel of said web, said ridgesforming spaced elongated pockets having sufiicient width to accommodatea slack loop formed in the final turn of said web and thereby allow thesame to pass from said roll without formation of a crease between saidsurfaces and said roll, said ridges being at an angle to the axis of therespective rollers so that at least two adjacent ones on each of saidrollers are in engagement with said roll at all times for smoothtransitional movement of said roll over said pockets, said Web beinglooped around said forward roller and passing between said rollers so asto form said slack loop by the pressure nip between said forward rollerand said roll immediately prior to separation of said web from saidroll.

12. The combination of claim 11 wherein the forward one of the supportrollers in the direction of travel of said web is positioned below therear one of said rollers whereby said forward roller receives themajority of the weight of said roll to encourage trapping and formationof said slack loop and so as to prevent accidental removal of said rollover said rear roller.

13. The combination of claim 11 wherein said ridges are V-shaped, thebight of said ridges being positioned in the center of said roller, saidbight of said forward one of said rollers in the direction of travel ofsaid web extending in said direction of travel so that said ridgesproduce outward and opposite axial forces on said web whereby said webis given a leading bow and stretched outwardly from the center.

14. An arborless roll cradle for supporting a web roll duringintermittent unwinding operation comprising a pair of elongated supportrollers having parallel and horizontally disposed axes, said rollersbeing spaced to allow said roll to rest on the peripheral surfaces ofsaid rollers so that the center of said roll is above a plane passingthrough said axes, the forward one of the support rollers in thedirection of travel of said web being positioned below the rear one ofsaid rollers whereby said plane is tilted forward at an acute angle toprevent accidental removal of said roll over said rear roller, said webbeing first directed rearwardly toward said rear roller and then trainedaround said forward roller and between said rollers so as to reverse itsdirection of travel as it moves forwardly whereby the tension force insaid web tending to bodily move said roll is toward said rear roller toprevent accidental removal of said roll over said forward roller, brakemeans for said rollers, and control means for actuation of said brakemeans in response to slackness in said web to retard said roller andprevent said roll from climbing up on said forward roller to thusfurther insure against accidental removal of said roll over said forwardroller.

15. The combination of claim 14 wherein said brake means includes apivotal block symmetrically mounted between said rollers about a pivotalaxis lying in said plane, friction pads mounted on opposite sides ofsaid block at the ends thereof to frictionally engage the surface of theroller adjacent the respective end, and wherein said control meanscomprises a dancer lever forming at least one control loop in said weband mounted for pivotal movement about said pivot axis and spring meansto resiliently urge said friction pads toward the respective rollersupon enlargement of said control loops.

16. An arborless roll cradle for supporting a web roll during unwindingoperation comprising a pair of elorngated support rollers havingparallel and horizontally disposed axes, said rollers being spaced toallow said roll to rest on the peripheral surfaces of said rollers sothat the center of said roll is above a plane passing through said axes,a pair of upstanding alignment rods extending through the space betweensaid rollers perpendicular to said plane and means on the end of saidrods to engage the respective end faces of said roll to insure that saidroll is maintained centered on said support rollers.

17. The combination of claim 16 wherein said engaging means includes aplurality of guide rollers mounted for rotation about the longitudinalaxis of each rod, each of engaged.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Cox 24275.43 Talbert 24268.7

Chadwick.

Savery 24266 White 24266 Hamer et a1. 24276 Cameron 24266 Simendinger.Walker et a1 24266 US. Cl. X.R

